Staff, Systems Design – System Architect

Thermo Fisher Scientific • Pleasanton, CA

4d • $135,900 - $170,000 • Onsite

About The Position

As part of Thermo Fisher Scientific, this role contributes to the company’s mission to help make the world healthier, cleaner, and safer. The Staff, Systems Design – System Architect provides architecture and technical leadership for embedded software coordinating, monitoring, and controlling complex scientific instrument subsystems, rather than primarily focusing on low-level firmware development.

The position defines and evolves embedded software architecture for advanced scientific instruments and laboratory automation platforms. It works across hardware, systems, application software, quality, and product teams to deliver reliable, maintainable, and scalable software from concept through release and sustaining support. The work includes instrument-subsystem software design for workflow orchestration, device communications, subsystem coordination, diagnostics, state management, error handling, data exchange, and integration with higher-level applications. The role also guides technical decisions, establishes architectural standards, mentors engineers, and helps shape reusable software platforms across products.

Requirements

• Advanced degree plus 6 years of experience, or bachelor’s degree plus 8 years of experience, in embedded software development, software architecture, or complex product development.
• Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Demonstrated experience architecting and delivering embedded software for complex electro-mechanical products, scientific instruments, laboratory automation, robotics, industrial systems, or comparable products.
• Strong experience designing modular, maintainable software systems using C++, Python, and/or other relevant programming languages.
• Experience designing software components, service interfaces, communication layers, diagnostics, error handling, and state management across distributed instrument subsystems.
• Experience integrating embedded software with sensors, actuators, motion systems, fluidics, imaging systems, control electronics, or external devices.
• Experience with embedded or real-time operating environments and the practical constraints of software that interfaces with hardware.
• Experience developing automated test frameworks, integration tools, simulation environments, or hardware-in-the-loop test capabilities using Python or similar technologies.
• Strong understanding of software design principles, API/interface design, version control, code review, continuous integration, automated testing, and release management.
• Experience leading technical design decisions and influencing cross-functional engineering teams.
• Strong communication, collaboration, problem-solving, and mentoring skills.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with laboratory, analytical, life sciences, medical-device, automation, robotics, or other regulated products.
• Experience with distributed embedded systems, device communications, industrial protocols, Ethernet-based systems, or software services running on instrument-connected platforms.
• Experience with real-time behavior, motion control, fluidics, imaging, precision measurement, or workflow orchestration.
• Familiarity with safety, risk management, cybersecurity, or regulated software-development practices.
• Experience with Linux-based embedded platforms, RTOS-based products, or containerized/edge software environments.
• Experience collaborating with firmware teams; hands-on device-driver, microcontroller, or low-level firmware development is beneficial but not required.
• Experience working in Agile product development environments.
• Ability to travel up to 20% as needed.

Responsibilities

• Lead the architecture and technical design of embedded software for complex scientific instruments and laboratory automation platforms.
• Define software boundaries, component responsibilities, interfaces, and communication patterns across embedded subsystems, hardware controllers, and higher-level applications.
• Translate product and system needs into embedded software requirements, architecture specifications, design documentation, and implementation plans.
• Architect software for subsystem coordination, workflow execution, device communication, diagnostics, error recovery, event handling, configuration, and state management.
• Partner with electrical, mechanical, firmware, systems, and application software teams to deliver integrated instrument capabilities.
• Establish reusable software architectures, design patterns, coding standards, interface specifications, and technical-review practices.
• Lead technical investigations and root-cause analysis for complex software integration, reliability, performance, and field issues.
• Define and support software verification strategies, including unit, integration, system, simulation, and hardware-in-the-loop testing.
• Develop or guide development of automation and engineering tools that improve software quality, test coverage, and development efficiency.
• Mentor embedded software engineers and provide technical leadership across product development teams.
• Influence technical roadmaps, platform reuse strategy, and improvements to the embedded software development lifecycle.

Benefits

• Choice of national medical and dental plans and a national vision plan, including health incentive programs.
• Employee assistance and family support programs, including commuter benefits and tuition reimbursement.
• At least 120 hours of paid time off (PTO), 10 paid holidays annually, paid parental leave (3 weeks for bonding and 8 weeks for caregiver leave), accident and life insurance, and short- and long-term disability in accordance with company policy.
• Competitive 401(k) U.S. retirement savings plan.
• Employees’ Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP), offering eligible colleagues the opportunity to purchase company stock at a discount.
• May be eligible for a variable annual bonus based on company, team, and/or individual performance results in accordance with company policy.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior